“There’s nothing like a crisis to demonstrate the essential importance of training and preparation” says Diana Curic, GardaWorld relationship manager. “Our team’s response to the events at the Yonge Corporate Centre on April 9th, 2014 show that we’ve taken this to heart and that our people can get the job done in a crisis.”

No one could have suspected that the Yonge Corporate Centre would be the scene of a violent assault that day, when four people were stabbed. This jarring event had the potential to bring chaos to the entire facility, if not for the calm, organized actions of the GardaWorld staff on site and the GTA dispatch centre. Diana Curic, the facility’s Relationship Manager, was running late for a flight when she received a call from her client.

With limited information available she began coordinating events remotely with dispatch and Kevin Ball, the site’s Operations Manager. As details began to emerge, the two knew that there was a volatile situation at hand. There had been a violent crime committed and the suspect was still at large. Further, the scene was rapidly growing more chaotic as people began rushing out of the building and members of the press began trying to entre. GardaWorld mobile units were dispatched and were on the scene in under 20 minutes. Security guards on site were already assisting emergency workers. Both groups knew the essential importance of notifying the correct first responders, protecting the crime scene and ensuring the safety of those present. They knew their jobs, relied on their training, and brought the situation under control.

GardaWorld operates with extensive dispatch and mobile capacity. This means that when our clients need us – like they did on April 9th – we have the capacity to rapidly dispatch security forces to where they’re needed most. “We all played a role, including dispatch and mobile, and this professionalism is what the client saw. Our coordinated efforts in the face of a crisis are why we are experts at what we do” says Diana.